Part 137
Sitemap '--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ' Lots More Fabulous Items/Ideas For a BioShock Rapture MMORPG '--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ' Part 137 --- --- --- --- --- --- Societal Concepts in Relativity : For those who thought that the presented atrocities of characters like J S Steinman and S Cohen were the product of Andrew Ryan's "Philosophy", you need to understand those were AFTER Fontaine's poison had disordered Rapture and removed many societal controls over the inhabitants. Consider what something (like ADAM) with similar disruptive capabilities on people around YOU could do to your own cumfy 'enlightened' world ... Ryan's (and Rapture's) idea of freedom was just a different balancing point (and actually much similar to that of America in the times before WW2 and FDR). That type of Society, with its own Checks and Balances, was then shown after being forced into violent insanity, with the obvious destructive results. If anybody survived in Rapture for long, it was more because of the attempts by Ryan (and the many non-insane Citizens) to maintain order through 'control'/'security' methods, which STILL fell well short of measures the US Government imposed on its Own Citizens during WW2. As well as that, the people also had to continue with many (pre-disruption) activities to keep themselves alive. We never really saw the REST of less chaotic/more stable Rapture, where organized survival was going on -- it wasn't part of that "dystopia" narrative the writer spun for their plot (apparently it was no matter/relevant how heroic that part of the story actually would have been). --- --- --- Construction MASSIVE Compression Forces : The reality of an underwater city (no matter how deep it is) is the force of the water trying to crush the air space of the living zone within (assuming it is not kept AT the sea's pressure, which has separate problems affecting physiology, and with it varying significantly in pressure with depth (as in 1 atmosphere of pressure added for only about 33 added feet depth difference of water). So how do you structurally handle pressures like this (ex - 600 feet deep) to preserve 'normal' air pressure inside ? You have to build a structure which holds out all this pressure - on all sides/every surface, every window, crack and cranny and connecting interface. Bulk Metal (like on a submarine) could be used, but its very expensive for large volumes/structures. A material like reinforced concrete resists compression forces very well, and is far cheaper - both for the materials and for the construction process. So that is what Rapture (as large as it is shown to be) has to be mostly made of. --- --- --- Sea Products - "Pass the Kelp" ''' : Kelp Tea is good for you - it prevents scurvy (the right kind does anyway). There are many different types of Kelp - selective types for sophisticated tastes (and ones that can be grown in Raptures environs...)? It is a raw material which can be made into a variety of products with all kinds of uses : * Fertilizer for agriculture (and burned for CO2 for growing crops) * Food Additives (bet you didn't know they put kelp extracts in some of your ice cream products) * Fiber made into paper ("civilization ends when the toilet paper runs out" ...) * Various efforts (Ryan's Surface Organization) would be made to bring useful varieties of Kelp and other sea plants to Rapture to see what would grow (similar to Rapture Agriculture in general - actually planned before Rapture was built). Needed one of more prominent Marine Biologists to have been employed by Ryan Industries. They possibly never came to Rapture, as most of the work required would/should be done outside - across the World's oceans (organized by Ryan's Global Industrial Organization, which continued to exist even after his 'death'). Kelp needs sunlight (or artificial light) and doesn't grow as well in cold ocean water (possible use of heat from Hephaestus). If it its to be 'harvested' from the open ocean then similar to 'fishing' long range subs are required. --- --- --- '''Bad Bonus Deal : Someone (out their on the Interwebz) has commented that the bonuses they gave you for the Infinite BS "buy-early" shit were basically the equivalent of using Cheat Codes - giving a reduced game experience by making the game's start far easier, and RUINING any game balancing (if there ever was much of that in the game's production). Industrial Revolution Pack (given for a preorder 'pre-pay' ) : * 500 Silver Eagles (free money) * Fleet Feet Gear (makes harder for the enemy to hit you) * Handyman Nemesis Gear (you do more damage) * Sugar Rush Gear (you run faster) * 5 lock picks (easier access to get hidden items behind locks) * A puzzle game (to while away the delays) All in the name of a fa$t buck - Well they did have to make back the $200 million dollars the game cost just to break even (and it helps to get the suckers paying BEFORE something goes wrong with the paid 'reviewer' propaganda). Unfortunate the result is to play Easier, and the game is over faster (reportedly with little desire to replay by most Players) -- just what you need ... so even LESS play-hours for your $60). --- --- --- Infinite BS Magic Potions and Magic Objects : "Vigors" are the wondrous magic potions of Columbia, granting extraordinary abilities to their users. They are powered by "Salts" which can be found in phials in their raw form or by consuming special foods." Oooh 'Salts' (EVE equivalent you thing ??). So if I eat that big salt encrusted pretzel I can leap about like the Hulk ?? So what powers the "Gearz" ? Vaporous emenations from Elizabeth's godhood collected by the 'Siphon' ? Quantumz Juice ? Seepage from between Realities ? Memories ? Seems very strange, but EVE was never explained either (But then biochemistry IS something 'real' and 'nutrients' are part of a real physiological process). --- --- --- Teething Problems : Just because you discover FloatyShit™ doesn't mean you instantly make it work in a practical manner, (( '' Oh yes Rosalind Lutece was a natural "Quantumz Engineer" -- when no such thing existed nor the technology to develop it '' )), nor to lift up something the size of several city blocks (safely and consistently). Columbia seen next to the "Ferris Wheel" pix really was not that amazing, and Columbia's mimicking much of the rest of the Fair's architecture and style eliminated much of the impact which it otherwise might have had (OR a Psychedelic Light Show to compete wuth the City of Lights -- with the extraordinary 80000 lightbulbs illuminating the REAL (historic) exhibition -- might've "Blown Their Minds". Remember they coulda 'teared' into the future to get that idea ...). Technical problems with the hastily-thrown-together construction almost caused Columbia to be banned, and it was only allowed to stay ONLY if it was moored floating above Lake Michigan, so that it did not pose a hazard to people underneath it. Fact : The Ferris Wheel at the 1893 Exposition was the most popular attraction and significantly help stave off the fair from losing money. Columbia, after a few mishaps, had people scared to go near it. --- --- --- WYK room in RCC - Proof that Ryan knew what was going on for quite some time ' : Atlas was lying to you the whole time, but Ryan too could have put on his own charade (as in setting you up to fake his own death), to steer Jack into revealing Fontaine, who could then be hunted down and destroyed as his last card was spent (ie- Fontaine's desperate oversplicing of himself when finally trapped). Jack going for Fontaine would be a good diversion, while Ryan's forces converged on Fontaine, who would give his location away by using a fake 'genetic' command key. Jack is unconscious when Atlas is killed by Ryan's men (Littles Sisters trying to take Fontaine's ADAM, when he wouldn't stay still ??? Please ...) Why does Fontaine yammer on at Jack when Jack has the mentality of a 4 year old ?? Jack isn't even a real a man (( '' 'Levines backhanded commentary on the Player ????' '' )), he's more a delusional puppet with specific very-limited memories and conditioned programming. He's also furtherly made insane/unstable from all that ADAM pushed into his body, and is stuck in his own Little Sister Dollhouse delusion. Jack probably doesn't understand much of what Fontaine is even talking about. Jack is probably waiting for his candy reward which he was promised before being put on that plane. But then, Fontaine is a Sociopath, and is busy self-congratulating himself for what he thinks he has pulled off. Soon HE will realize how HE has been played. What Ryan then Says to Fontaine would have been the real meat of a good story. Ryan will tell Fontaine off (very philosophically) while Fontaine is being dispatched. - The game writers can't really deliver story much more than what's in your typical Short Story -- something a few pages long. They have to compromise (it IS a Shooter Game after all), no matter how much the visual and audio elements might add, over simple text. The unfortunate thing is - the game company sold it (their endless online spiels) like it was something more. --- --- --- Zeppelin On The Brain '''Engines/Wings On Those Awful Faux-Zeppelins ? ' : Zeppelins needed to be Streamlined to be effective. So seeing huge biplane wings sticking out from the those Infinite BS vehicles set off *know-nothing* alarm bells as soon as I saw them. (( '' It doesn't in the least follow the design practice of Airship-maker designs, so the "Full Retard" red flag immediately got raised. '' )) Because even though they might 'float' (via Quantumz Magic), they still apparently had to be DRIVEN (and controlled) through the air (wings, rudders, engines with propellers ...). Real Zeppelins easily seen through those 'Tears' should have shown REAL design solutions (instead of illogical/impractical 'imaginings' by the fixated game developers). This fully makes Elizabeth's BS activity of lifting/guiding of Fontaines Department Store via "lunnette hook and 'particle'" - DLC-dimtardness™/wrongness (( '' or is this explained by more convenient 'god power' again ? Story crutched in DLC - just makes it MORE poor/lame/typical DLC. '' )) This brings up the question : of HOW Coluumbia itself moved... (Coulda been done, and nicely shown/elaborated '''imaginatively in-game (to the benefit of the game and the Players story) *IF* Levine hadn't f*cked up the whole thing, and rewritten the game 3 times, and wasted so many available resources ???) --- --- --- Curse of the Second Sequel -- Infinite BS - Just Plain Bad Writing ' : Such a bizarre mix of the profane, ''Coney Island-esque', and hardly 'American' religious beliefs (being delusionally obscenely/atypically cultish). It makes one question what the writer/game-management KNEW or Believed about 'America". The term "Strawman" comes to mind, for what is alleged as falsely 'American'/America in this game, and by the content of the endless promotional/self-congradulatory 'talks'/'spiels' (jive sessions) given in so many of those game developer's interviews. It all makes one really wonder what the gamewriters/Levine actually knew/understands about 'American' religion (or "Science" or "Engineering" or "History" or "Society", or anything else for that matter - including "gamemaking"). Levine, himself, in an interview says he doesn't know much about 'religion' (( '' what is presented IN the game certainly seems to show that '' )). If the game is some attempt to illuminate some kind of 'American' hypocrisy, then it is rather badly done, through presenting such a BADLY fabricated MAKE-BELIEVE situation. It seems a rather flawed way to argue their conclusion. This Cardboard Cutout controversial 'Strawman' propaganda isn't History, IT is a grotesque travesty (made all the more odious by the writers' claims and self-awarded accolades about it all). In the end, there was alot of Hype created, for monetary reasons, for a rather lame shooter game, with a plot more based on 'the confusion factor' -- pretending to be more than what it was. Most of the Players could care less about the strange fakery (if they even knew the difference -- thus the effort is wasted). Wasn't it a '''simple indicator of this game's alleged "success" being : That the development studio soon after was shut down, and Levine was looking for a new job ? --- --- --- Tin Tile Ceilings : Pattern-pressed metal sheeting. Mass produced in late Victorian era through 1930. Was an inexpensive alternative to plaster detailing. It fit right in with the Art Deco type construction later (where repeating prefabricated decorations were efficiently applied to the base structure). Sounds like one of those 'small businesses' which would 'fit right in' in Rapture (and would have been used extensively in its construction -- with all the plain concrete and those false ceilings to accommodate the utilities which needed hiding ...). --- --- --- "Eye-Tracking" as a New Feature For Gaming Hardware and Games (Hmmmm) ''' : Optical input methods for computers (are advancing)... Used as an adjunct to existing control methods (like the Voice inputs spoken of elsewhere). Maybe is worth including, if such interfaces become much more common. I smell a possible feature option for the MMORPG. Even if the 'company' doesn't do it, the Players (with the required expertise) might be able implement control inputs of this NEW type - the base game code need only be available for modular/plugin modification. A Limitation is handling of reflexive eye-movement, and preventing spasmodic/unintended reactions/commands. Possibly can be used for 'causal' wandering-type activity. Note - years ago when I heard about optical interfaces like this I said that the companies making them probably will need to provide a large bottle of Asprin to go with their product (( '' AND Years ago the second generation 3D optical interfaces suddenly disappeared from the market when it was discovered that they causes children's eyes/brains to malform from their constant use, and would provide a great deal of income to Lawyer$, for all the damage those products could cause. '' )) --- --- --- '''Sweet, Sweet Context : You have to have a game story with a context, and that of MMORPG Rapture was OUR world of the 40s/50s transported down into the Ocean. It is NOT some remote fantasyland where everything was so alien that any comparison to our world would get lost. The City's economics and society actually wasn't that far different from that past time (do not get it mixed up with today's World). Against that, was the 'Bio' Shock upon the populace, and how IT affected the people in that societal microcosm. The conflict setting Context is NOT in OUR whole (huge) World (where the game environment would have to be too open for a contained Shooter, and for it to not turn into some unmanageable 'World War Z' type scenario, or have the cast of characters grow too huge to retain detail/flavor and Player attachment). So lets allow some (better) limited Fantasy in the game (mostly retained for some glitzy game-mechanics), and add ALOT more reality to give the player a familiar Context. You might otherwise have another crappy circus shooting gallery --- where Ryan (in the story) could for example, by radio control, just make Atlas's head explode, or have the tentacle beasts patrolled Rapture's halls enforcing his 'tyranny', while tootling Sander Cohen Show tunes. (( '' We'll Leave that kind of open-ended rubbish to Infinite BS. '' )) --- --- --- Object (Player) Possessions Should Have a Story : They should not be mere "lifeless" disposable temporary props, but possessions Player's become attached to. Effort put into acquiring or making them (and even skill development for them) is rewarded. (and the effort should last, and NOT be immediately/quickly superceded by another 'gimme' object on the advancement ramp). The story to create would be : Where the Player obtained them, Who made them, Who repaired/improved them. A tale when a 'significant' non-mundane Object is gotten from a memorable Mission. Story Info attached to these Objects/Possessions (in the games presentation interface), so that the Player can go back and reminisce about them (and the gameplay the player did obtaining them). In this MMORPG, good items are not to be discarded endlessly as part of some level ramp (In another MMORPG, someone once said : That they could have built an island out of all the 'magic' weapons and equipment they (too easily) acquired and casually discarded -- the Players being so inundated with them, and them just being far too 'ordinary'). Well no 'magic' weapons in the BioShock MMORPG, but 'special' can be handled otherways, so as to have more significance to the Player's experience. - There are ways to make such 'special' objects semi-unique - if not entirely, then at least so that the Player doesn't see/obtain duplication. The MMORPGs Auto-Generation can make use of combinatoric randomness to vary the items sufficiently, AND the Seed Data used for the random functions can be kept in the Object's data to be checked to prevent giving the Player duplicates. (A similar mechanism tracks/prevents Mission Scenario repeats). --- --- --- "You Dont Own Us" - Fontaine's Rent-a-Mob Protester's Signs : None of their suitcases had anything in them (that scene at Welcome Center Bathysphere station), and their signs were RATHER well pre-printed, No ? SO were they REALLY just more of Fontaine's troublemaking to cause problems for Ryan (instead of the actual population angst) ?? How many of those Citizens managed to get up to the Lighthouse before figuring out that there was no place to go from there (BUT ATLAS PROMISED !!!), and that it was DAMNED cold up there in the middle of the North Atlantic??? (Even better, if it was at that time in the middle of a Winter storm.) Ryan probably had the bodies cleaned up later before Jack's arrival ((THAT would have been an interesting scene - "knee deep in rotting corpses" -- THAT early in the BS1 game)). But throwing them into the water would be easy (once the newspapers took picture to record the gullibility of those whom the troublemakers had intentionally CONVINCED it was a way to leave Rapture). Fontaine/Atlas probably had a 'good laugh' at the "Suckers". Count all those signs - How many people would that have really been ? Not exactly a "mass protest" for the number of people Rapture had in it. When did it happen ? Lets assume it was after the Kashmir Incident scared so many people. It is unlikely all this stuff is still left lying there from ~1952, after the economic 'crash' and when the Isolation of Rapture was instituted ??? --- --- --- Where's the "Hangin Tree" ? ''' : If you want an epitome representation of Racism in Columbia (more than that lip-service rendition the cowardly PC game showed), there should be a good '''Lynching every Saturday night in Columbia (with a lever pull 'Will You Be the One' Raffle, with Prizes !!! Dancing afterwards, and CLOWNS !! -- Fun for the whole family -- Saturday, Saturday, Saturday !!! ). In reality, oppression is more subtle (and effective) than this stupid gorp Levine&Co came up with , with 'visits' in the dead of night, by 'enforcers' with their faces hidden (KKK sheets as REAL WORLD example). Mystery and Fear are far better tools for such subjugation. Any mandated public punishment has to be seen as serious and as a solid group expression of the Society's Laws (not made into a travesty like this ridiculous deluded carnival of Levine's warped imagination). --- --- --- In Columbia - Wriggley Gum - now with Laudanum *or* Radium : Both were period-popular Panacea/cure-alls. There were plenty of 'ills', as there still are now. Cigarettes for Children was far too lame, no matter how 'Shocking' the authors thought it would be. People laying drunk in gutters, the miserable latrines/hovels of the poor, the despair/hunger of the underclass and downtrodden ... I guess a realistic representation was thought to be too much (or brought up too many questions for the typical Player and would detract from the shooting activities). "Milquetoast", Definition : very timid, unassertive, spineless. "Milk toast" - often given to sickly people, considered bland and easy on the digestive tract. Used in a sentence : "The oppression of the poor in Infinite BS was a bit too Milquetoast." --- --- --- Team NPC Butt Monkeys (?) ''' : Automatic AI-Driven NPCs who ca n follow complex orders and do things normal NPCs do for a living. That is WITHOUT having to be micromanaged by the Player. : Example - They would do alot of looting for you (and generally only show you the real goodies they might find or need help extracting). They can keep your supplies stocked and organized (as you've designated previously). Managing them (if you chose to) needs a good clear interface and an intelligent design (to eliminate constant/bothersome micro-management corrections) so as to not have THEM become something just as tedious as doing everything yourself. That capabilit requires competant AI-scripting for all kinds of tasks and solutions - not just to DO things,l but WHEN and WHAT things should be done correctly/appropriately/prioritized. A type of Task/Process based AI-programming called "Planners" exists which includes : Assessing situations for decisions, Evaluating different Solutions, then breaking the decided Tasks into separate Steps, and Tracking them as they proceed. Reassessing the Situation and Progress of the Tasks would also done to adapt to a changing Environment/Situation. The same "Planner" Programming would be used to give the games NPC population the appearance of realistically behaving and doing things (instead of standing around like mannequins, or 'running on rails', or being little more than menu activators, as most game NPCs do). --- --- --- '''The Columbia That Never Was : http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/BioShock_Infinite_Removed_Content Alot of details shown about game design that were too hard to produce, with the turning away from the more historic and logical setting (also showing more reality would have been Politically Incorrect ?? -- Despite alleged 'edgy nature' Levine spieled about for the game.) Resulting in a "lipservice" watered down portrayal of racism, strawman evil religion, virtually nonexistant anti-semitism (a popular thging in those days), boutique nationalism, cartoonish laissez-faire-isms. --- --- --- Tuna Club - Members Only (May be Cat Related ?) : Jazz was still popular (I'm not going to invent something to replace it - first its very hard to do that right, to produce the art, and second because Rapture wasn't big enough to originate much, and third its not been there long enough for such development (nor get the talent). The avante garde stuff which Sander Cohen was doing in BaSx was actually all done before -- from in the 20s to Andy Warhol in the 60s. So the game writers merely had to replicate/modify those ideas (not original imagination - yes Andy Warhol was known to beat someone senseless with a chair if "the mood took him" ...). --- --- --- Quaint Quack Medicine' : "Saltz" to power Vigors ??? A dose of salts was something to 'cleanse your system', as in a laxative -- which is "spot on" to be associated with the wreasty BS of that whole game. You think you're doin this amazin stuff, but hallucinogens are like that. Radium and Opiates make a tricky but powerful combination (both were popular in Cures of that timeperiod) Pretty Blue Gloweyness ... (what else are they supposed to look like?? They are Magic Potions in a Fantasy game). --- --- --- Rapture Would Have Fought Back : Unlike people of our time, who have been repeatedly told they "don't have to be able to defend themselves", and that they "will be taken care of", the people who went to Rapture were from THAT 40s era WHEN such ideas were looked on by the majority with disgust and ridicule (THEY had lived lives where the the opposite was proven ... even proven to society's simpletons). So Ryan would have been able to raise a substantial Militia to fight Atlas's terrorists, and to secure safety for themselves without resorting to desparate insanity-producing ADAM. Whole sections of Rapture very easily could (would) be kept safe and productive, while Ryan worked to eliminate the evil element trying to destroy/kill everyone and seize control. All the chaos we saw (in-game) could be simply explained as the places Atlas and his murderers had reigned within before being stopped. Using 'Jack' was pretty much an act of desperation for Atlas/Fontaine, who at the time of the game was being cornered, and would soon have been eliminated by Ryan and the people of Rapture. Atlas of course wouldn't mention any of that to YOU, AND it WAS eventually shown to you HOW MUCH he said was lies. It is unfortunate YOU weren't honestly given the Choice (REAL CHOICE FOR ONCE) to decide for yourself (or at least to see the truth) : With more/sufficient counter-evidence offered, instead of that contrived force-fed narrative, which was purely created to work that weak/meager plotline 'twist' : See Jack Run. Run Jack, Run. See Atlas Talk. Talk, Atlas Talk. See Atlas Lie. Lie, Lie, Lie. See Ryan Saving Rapture. See Jack Listen To Atlas. Stupid Jack, Stupid. See Jack Whack Ryan. Whack, Whack, Whack. Stupid Jack, Stupid. See Fontaine Atlas Crow. Crow, Fontaine Crow. See Jack Kill Atlas. Kill, Kill, Kill. Die, Die, Die. See Ryan Fool Fontaine. Fool, Fool, Fool. See Jack Saved By Father. Saved, Saved, Saved. See Rapture Reborn. Yay !!! Yay!! Yay !! --- --- --- '"Beast of America" ' : What delusional crap is this (Internetz Trailer) ? What "America" exactly is THIS? Oh yes, a 'catchy tune' as a promotional gimmick, but is this truly what Ken Levine and his 'clever' writers think America was ? His dream "Beast of Columbia", is creepily distorted and twisted from some half-remembered 'modern progressive' high school representation of that time (... created so as to resonate with average public school Gamedudes misunderstandings ?) But, But, But, Real/true historical representations would only distract from the mass-murder activities of the Player ?? (Player hoping to discover yet another unexperienced 'Execution' action with that stupid Skyhook thing ???) The only non-Faux thing in this 'game' is the Bullshit : '10 out of 10' !!! --- --- --- Transportation 'What Powers Those Atlantic Express Train's Movement ? ' : They have to be self-contained, and Reliability is what is required for a proper 'Transit' system (or really ANY system in a City). The AE Trains do go a fairly short distance, as a 'Transit System' the routes are only a few miles long at most (with potential refuel/recharge at end of each run). There's no easy "air" to burn some fuel stuff (unless you, along with the fuel, do some kind of bothersome compressed air which needs to be constantly recharged (old submarine problem) - and an even bigger load to carry). Liquid oxidizers like acids and hydrogen peroxide are VERY hazardous. And then you have to dispose of the exhausted gas (combustion by-products - out into the ocean, pumped out against that high 280 lb/sqin pressure differential). Pre-Compressed air (and needing to be far higher than the outside water pressure for their exhaust to be practical) to drive 'airmotors'? High pressure transfer of this 'fuel' is also problematical. Electric Storage Batteries ? Big and Heavy, but there is no significant 'buoyancy' issue to contend with on the AE Trains (they hang from their track). Electric cable in a wet environment offers some difficulties, but those could be handled. The system requires some kind of process of energy restoration to the vehicle (wires for electricity or conduits for fuel/air) with sufficiently safe connectors, and with personnel taking time to transfer them (to 'refuel') routinely. Distances in Rapture aren't that far (a few miles per run) so if the storage capacity is sufficient, many 'runs' might be done before a "Refueling Cycle" is required (and you want a safety margin to not possibly 'run out' somewhere inconvenient, like stranding in-between two stations out in the Ocean). The Same issue exists for the 'Bathyspheres'. EVEN IF THEY run on my Moving (towing) Cable system, they have some energy requirements for control mechanisms and lights/air/heat/etc... systems. --- --- --- 'Population of Columbia ? ' : The Population you-see-in-the-game doesn't count more (literally) than a large village's -- AND worse, is every other person seemingly being a cop or para-military (or a Vox terrorist). The problem is : You really do not see sufficient land area with enough high-density buildings for very many people to live there (( '' Ignoring that 'little' problem that there's no apparent source of raw materials to support/sustain what little population we saw, anyway '' )). The limitations exposed in that Fantasy vision, reduces Columbia effectively to NOT a 'City', and hardly even a 'Town' (rather just a poor bunch/conglomeration of structures thrown together and labeled a 'city' ... delusional the whole lot of them). A "City" has mass and concentration (of people as well economically and physically) - a definition apparently lost on the game's makers (amongst other things). Distant cloud-obscured chunks hint at additional 'city' (though what's seen still duplicates the same insufficiently dense pattern). Such spacings would make Columbia quite spread out -- a disorganized mess of pieces, haphazardly arranged and tenuously tied together, and hard/inconvenient to get around across the distances and gaps (and an odd arrangement to systematically propel anywhere). Having 'Small town' strong religion and genteel society, attempted in a 'Big City' environment cannot really be resolved. That dichotomy/conflict could not be hidden even with the various graphics tricks employed. - Despite some religions having their Eden/Heaven being for "The Elect", and not needing to be particularly large, with Columbia's bloated over-grandiosity evident in the game, smallness doesn't seem to be the idea for Columbia, rather an attempt to make it a big impressive 'city' to fool the minions. --- --- --- --- --- . . . . .